Walk Up Peak & Taylor Peak, Utah (8-27-15)

A little before 7:00 AM on Day 19 of Lupe’s great Summer of 2015 Dingo Vacation, things weren’t looking too promising.  The G6 was all wet.  It must have rained during the night.  Low gray clouds hid the sky.  It looked like it might rain all day.

Within 20 minutes, though, a patch of blue sky appeared.  It started spreading rapidly.  By the time Lupe and SPHP reached the trailhead near Spirit Lake Lodge, half the sky was already blue.  It was going to be a great day to climb Walk Up Peak (12,365 ft.), after all!

At 7:34 AM (48°F), Lupe started along the Tamarack Lake trail through the still damp forest.  By the time she reached Tamarack Lake, the clouds were almost all gone.  Tamarack Lake was gorgeous.  Brightly lit mountains reflected on the smooth, calm surface.  The NE ridge leading to Walk Up Peak was in view across the lake.

Lupe followed the trail heading W through the forest.  The trail stayed pretty close to the N shore of Tamarack Lake.  By the time she reached the W end of the lake, a breeze had picked up.  There were little waves on the lake now.

The trail had gained only about 200 feet of elevation in the 1.5 to 2 miles from the trailhead to Tamarack Lake.  Once the trail got past the W end of the lake, it quickly gained another 300 feet going up a forested ridge.  Up on the higher ground, the trail continued W through the forest until it broke out into the open.  The trail headed across grasslands straight for a big pond.

Lupe circled around the N and W shores of the big pond.  SPHP named it Walk Up Pond, since it was the largest of several ponds to the N of the big ridge leading to Walk Up Peak.  Lupe headed S towards the forest at the base of the big ridge.  Along the way, she came to a much smaller pond half full of reeds.  SPHP cleverly named this Reed Pond.

Lupe reached the forest S of the ponds.  Her climb up the big ridge to Walk Up Peak now began in earnest.  She liked the forest, and spent her time there looking up hoping to find squirrels to bark at in the trees.  The forest really didn’t go very far up the mountain, though.  Soon SPHP was through the forest.  Lupe entered a narrow band of small bushes.  When Lupe got above the bushes, there was only heather, rocks, and a brisk N breeze.

The highest part of the big ridge Lupe was climbing from the N went for many miles in an E/W direction.  The high country was all open and gently rolling.  There were numerous peaks spread out along the ridge.  The peaks weren’t particularly impressive.  They just looked like really big round hills.  Even so, the views from the high country were vast and splendid.

Walk Up Peak was another really big hill, similar to the others along the ridgeline.  Lupe had to make a long trek to the W from where she came up the ridge to get to the top of Walk Up Peak.

There was no marker at the high point on Walk Up Peak.  The top of the mountain was just a barren field of rocks and heather like the rest of the ridge.  Lupe did find a cairn just a little way to the NW, though, where the views were best.

It was windy up on Walk Up Peak.  The wind had been blowing ever since Lupe reached the high country.  Puffy white clouds raced across the sky heading S or SE.  Lupe doesn’t really like wind, but it wasn’t too bad.  She was willing to go onward and climb another peak.  Taylor Peak (12,600 ft.) was next in line to the W.  Lupe and SPHP headed off in that direction, leaving Walk Up Peak behind.

Down at the lowest part of the saddle between Walk Up Peak and Taylor Peak, Lupe discovered an odd looking little tower.  It looked like some kind of weather station to SPHP.  Lupe wasn’t sure, she was more suspicious.  It just didn’t look right to her.  She investigated it cautiously at first, before deciding it was nothing to worry about.

The summit of Taylor Peak was a huge jumble of purple-gray rocks interspersed with heather.  Lupe found a summit cairn in the midst of the sea of rocks.  The cairn was so far from the edge of the mountain that the only interesting view was off to the WSW.  There were some high mountains in that direction.  SPHP wondered if the highest one might not be Kings Peak, the highest point in all of Utah.  It was in the right direction, so maybe it was Kings Peak, but SPHP was not certain.

Lupe wasn’t worried about the view.  She was tired of the wind and ready for a rest.  After some water and Taste of the Wild, a comfy bit of heather near the summit cairn on Taylor Peak served as a Dingo bed.  She wanted SPHP to scratch her belly.  It must have felt good.  After a few minutes she was asleep.  Lupe and SPHP stayed at the cairn for a good long while.  It was a great place to be.  Lupe and SPHP hadn’t seen another soul all day, and wouldn’t see anyone on the way back either.

After a while, it was time to go.  There were more peaks farther W along the ridge, but the puffy white clouds seemed to be getting more and more numerous.  It was afternoon, and a long way back to the G6.  The N wind wasn’t all that strong, but it was relentless.  It was probably best to head back, rather than go any farther.

The way back was just a retracement of Lupe’s journey to Taylor Peak.  On the way, she visited the summit of Walk Up Peak again for another look.

By the time Lupe started heading down the N side of the big ridge, the weather was starting to look a bit ominous.  The clouds to the NW looked bigger and darker than before.  Maybe it was going to rain?

The wind grew stronger.  Dark clouds sailed by.  It rained, but only a few drops.  There was no thunder or lightning.  By the time Lupe was down to the forest near the base of the big ridge, it was all over.  The clouds were gone, the wind had died down, and it was a beautiful day again.

Lupe was glad to get back to the forest.  There was no wind!  There were squirrels!  It was fun!  Lupe explored the forest with enthusiasm.  In hardly any time at all, she was back to Tamarack Lake.

Near the E end of Tamarack Lake, there was a side trail that went 1/3 mile S to Jessen Lake.   It seemed like a fun thing to do.  There was time and the weather was now lovely, so Lupe took the side trail.  It went through the forest just E of Tamarack Lake.

Jessen Lake was smaller than Tamarack Lake.  It was tucked more closely beneath the big ridge to the S.  Forests surrounded the entire lake.  Lupe followed the trail E along the N shore.

At the NE corner of Jessen Lake, a stream left the lake flowing NE.  The Jessen Lake trail paralleled the stream, making a loop back to the main trail.  Lupe was now less than 0.5 mile from the trailhead at Spirit Lake.  The fun wasn’t over quite yet, though!  The pines along the main trail were full of squirrels trying to enjoy the evening.  The joyous high-pitched barking of an American Dingo echoed through the forest.

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